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The War of Four: Aftermath
Act 1 A Moment of Rest, A Life of Peace Only a couple of months had passed since the war with the Inner Circle, and Empresa seemed to have gone back to it's every day routine. A true testament to the technological capabilities of the Gotei 13's Research Division, the damage done by Aizen's forces had all but been completely rectified within just a couple of hours. No one could be more happy for this than Coyote Starrk. He lay calmly asleep on a bed in the Primera's quarters, his shoes on the floor beside it. Aside from the apparent memory loss that he had suffered while battling with Aizen, he appeared to have not changed in the slightest. For some this might be an annoyance, but surely for most, it couldn't have been any more preferable. At the very least, the Primera herself was glad he could find the ability to rest. Prior to this particular moment, she and her parents had to deal with unrest due to the monarch trio's sudden absence from Hueco Mundo. She, in particular, made a sincere apology announcement to the residents of the neighboring cities who had to deal with Aizen's forces by themselves, congratulated them for surviving and made a vow to never leave the side of her people again. It would put a damper on the next time the Soul Society wanted to pull an evacuation of Empresa. But she would gladly take that chance. Over the couple of months, Casilda and Starrk had interacted with each other more closely. It had taken a while for them to get around. But eventually, they had gotten closer to one another. Eventually, the item that was the current Primera and the former Primera was quick to spread in the higher ranks. Although everyone kept quiet about it, the Espada didn't seem too keen on letting Casilda be. Nicolao teased her about it on occasion, Bernabe grumbled about her being unable to focus on her duties due to being distracted by the "lazy hobo", and Loly made it a necessity to taunt her with rather lewd jokes. Still, they tolerated the new relationship to varying degrees and didn't mind Starrk's influence. In the last few weeks, however, the two had allowed themselves to become intimate as of recent... and in the recent days, Casilda had begun to show signs. Firstly, there was the fatigue, which wasn't helped by the amount of work she had to tend to. It got to the point where she had both Findorr and Bernabe take over active positions of leadership so that she could rest properly. Secondly, there were moments in where she found herself nauseous and even throwing up, and it wasn't uncommon for her to abruptly leave a meeting just so that she could relieve her stomach. When her subordinate heard of this, he insisted that she rest herself in the belief that there was some sort of illness. Even Casilda hadn't completely had an idea of what was happening just yet. But she was patient. She could wait it out until she got an opportunity to visit the doctors. In the meantime, she would spend her time with Starrk. "Note to self... don't do paperwork when you're about to collapse..." She muttered, walking quietly into her room. She was in her own sleep attire: a set of white floral pajamas designed with a subtle flair of elegance. As her bare feet treaded the floor, she took note of Starrk's sleeping form. Up to this point, she had been envying his ability to find sleep even in circumstances of recovery. But now, her road was clear and it was time for her to join him. A small smile crossed her face as she approached, and she resisted the urge to chuckle when she saw him roll on his side. He was such a heavy sleeper when he wanted to be, and like her, it was nearly impossible to wake him. It was a perfect scene for what she would do. When she was close enough, she climbed onto the bed and lowered herself close. With the stealth and precision of a ninja, she slid herself underneath an arm with just enough contact to get his (unfocused) attention. Then, she slowly turned herself so that she was facing his chest, sliding an arm around his waist in a light hug. A soft sigh escaped her as she snuggled up to him, his warmth a pleasing relief to her from the day's stress. A second or two after she had did this, Starrk's eye slowly cracked open and glanced down at the resting Casilda. He couldn't help but smile and let out a single chuckle at her precision and stealthiness, finding her way through his slumbering defenses without instantly waking him. The arm that she slid under slightly tightened to hold her closer to him in a comforting matter; he knew all too well that she hadn't been feeling good as of late, and while he often didn't show it to others outwardly, he was likely more concerned for her than any of the others. "Good to know I'm not the only lazy bum around here." ''he thought to himself light-heartidly. While he may have been considered an equal in the eyes of many, Starrk rarely did anything to contribute to the Espada Afilado and their cause. But what could he honestly do to assist them aside from combat situations? He felt as if he were seen more as an honored associate, a title that he certainly wasn't proud of, and used more of a symbol rather than a contributor. In his eyes, if this meant that he didn't have to do anything really exerting and could just spend time with the Primera (unless she personally required his aid), he wouldn't complain. He exhaled lightly through his nose, calmly snuggling his chin on her head smoothly as he spoke. "Sounds like you had a good day... again." "Oh, you know me too well..." Casilda murmured, taking in a deep breath before sighing again. "You'd think that after everything that's happened, paperwork would be the last of my concerns. But Hana and I still had to make sure the terms of our Alliance are binding, and apparently there's no other way to set it in stone. Next time, I'm just going to have Calius do it..." She closed her eyes. "Right now, I just want to get some sleep while I still can." To this, Starrk's arm pulled itself back slightly onto her hip, a physical indication to show her what he was referring to when he continued to speak. "Speaking of which... you're not feeling much better, are you?" he questioned with quiet concern. He knew what her problem was, but he did his best not to mention it to her for care of what it could do to her already high levels of stress. "You really do need to let Findor handle that office work stuff while you rest up. He's good at it, and it's not going to make things any easier for you if you just keep trying to do it on your own." A groan of mild aggravation came from her. "Do you have to be such a nag?" She complained, her arm squeezing him momentarily. "Findorr's been breathing the same stuff down my back as it is. Nevertheless," She sighed, her breath gently gracing Starrk's chest. "You do have a point. I need to take time for myself, time to get it together. Though I'm going to have to go to see Nicolao, have the doctors figure out just why I've gotten around to feeling like dead weight recently..." She let out a soft whine, almost humorously nuzzling her capture's front. "Coyote, I feel awful~!" ''"Guess that answers that question." ''Starrk thought with humor, a sweatdrop appearing on the back of his head as Casilda buried her face into his chest. For him to see the usually stoic and proud Primera in such an adorably vulnerable and pitiful state was quite an honor for him, as he doubted that she normally let anybody else see her act in such a way. Humbled, he gently but playfully ruffled her hair, chuckling lightly. "There there queen bee; you're in the wolves den now. A little stomach growling won't kill ya..." Casilda stopped nuzzling him, looking up at him with a pout. "Normally, hearing that would be the reason to keep a gun underneath the pillow." She said, before closing her eyes again. "But I guess you're right. I've been threatened by far worse. This is nothing I can't get over... at least, with the help of Nicolao. Now, sssh! I'm sleepin'." The last two sentences were said with a humorously stern tone. "Fine, fine." Starrk relented with a humored scoff, continuing to hold her close in a compassionate manner. "Come to think of it... i could use some sleep too..." Memories of Blood: The Prodigal Daughter Returns! "...so we can agree that somewhere along the way, Buddha decided to give me the middle finger. Good, glad we've established that." In a room within the barracks of the 2nd Division, Brina McTavish was sitting on her bed and giving a glare to the mirror facing her from a distance away. In replacement of the outfit she had worn while she was in the Inner Circle's care, she was back in the standard Punishment Force's uniform - something she had never expected herself to don again. There were a few difference from the standard one, as hers was sleeveless and sported a hood. But she also knew that she was going to have to get used to it. Soon after the war had officially ended, she had decided to stick with her master and the grandmaster of the Onmitsukidō rather than retreat to the depths of the Inner Circle. Her subordinate Kumiko took over for leadership, while she was reinstated into the 2nd Division. It was a surprising development, but one she could accept nonetheless due to the fact that it was a request from her former master. There was only one downside that had been hooked onto her ever since. She was now at the position of 3rd Seat - the very same position she had repeatedly mocked Sazuke for. Right now, she was directing her gripes to a bengal cat that was using her shoulders for a couch. "Not only am I a ''3rd Seat," She ranted, glaring at the mirror and partially throwing her hands up. "But I'm also a 3rd Seat... under Tensai. Bet she's just sitting up in her room, laughing her steroid-drunk bum off! Oh, I can just hear her now." She did a mock impression of Sasuke's voice. "Hello, Brina! Or should I call you 3rd Seat? It's funny because you used to call me 3rd Seat all the time, even when I was a Captain! But who's laughing now, you lazy sack of swine crap?" She let out a loud groan, slapping her face to her palms. "A subordinate to her... and I'm not even a right-hand anymore. This bites more than a rabid dog..." She sighed, lowering her hands to her lap and looking at her animal companion. "What do you think of all this, Cheshire? Surely, there's an opinion going on within that head of yours." The said Cheshire said nothing, but looked around a few times before reaching over to place a paw on Brina's nose. In response, she scrunched up her face - something that only increased when the cat started pawing at it. "No, stop it. I didn't say you could boop me. Chessy. Stahp it." "...oh boy, you're looking a little too much like mom now." Crouched inside the still of Brina's window was a young girl, appearing to be in her early to mid teens. She was wearing a special punishment corps outfit, with some features befitting that of a samurai, such as armor plates on her chest, shoulders and legs. She had black hair and fair black eyes, the former of which was kept in a light ponytail. Her expression was one of curiosity, but also one of slight worry, as implied by her previous sentence. "Next thing I know, you're gonna be building friggin' shrines to that cutie and calling it senpai." "!" Needless to say, Brina had not expected the likes of a visitor to appear. She jolted up a little, causing the cat to stop "booping" her and look over at the "intruder". However, it didn't take her long for her to come down from her surprise, as she realized just who it was. To be fair, she had only heard of the girl through reports from the Inner Circle and never actually met her in person. But at least she knew enough to have a bit of ground. The girl's name was Bei-Feng, and she just happened to be the daughter of her master and the apprentice of Sazuke. Much to her amusement, the girl was also the new Lieutenant of the 2nd Division, meaning that she was her second superior to deal with. At the very least, they were just meeting one another in recent times. So there wasn't much history to worry about as far as personal relations went. She could get along with the girl better than Sazuke, at least. She gave a humored scoff as she looked over at Bei-Fēng, with Cheshire sliding off of her shoulders and onto the bed. "What, does she actually do that?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow in genuine wonder. "You've no idea." the girl responded with a deadpan stare and tone. "I've gotten to where hearing 'Yoruichi-sama' is like one of those things where you hear a really annoying song that gets stuck in your head; it sucks." She glanced down at the floor briefly before sliding onto it's surface with her feet, fluidly moving her shoes off of her feet and wearing just her socks, before calmly sitting on the bed across from Brina. She crossed her legs and placed her arms on her knees, staring over at Brina in an almost analytical fashion. Her expression, while being what one might consider staring too much, was actually one of genuine curiosity; she didn't seem to have any sort of negative feelings towards Brina at this point, but it'd be safe to say that she wanted to hear about one of her mother's darkest individuals from none other than Brina herself. "So... you're the one mom and Sazuke told me so much about." she quipped, finishing her deduction and leaning back slightly. "Brina McTavish, right?" A smile crossed Brina's face at the revelation of her identity. She folded her arms across her chest, tilting her head to the side in a slight gesture of playfulness. "The one and only." She answered, taking a moment to look over the younger girl. "And from what sources tell me, you must be Bei-Fēng... the beloved daughter of Master and apprentice of 3rd Sea--" She caught herself before she finished the jab towards Sazuke, once again reminded of her own position. The memory slightly soured her expression and tone, and she corrected herself with contained irritation. "The Captain." "Heh, I guess irony really can be a bitch sometimes, huh?" Bei-Feng giggled with amusement. She knew Brina's history, of course, but it became a rather amusing twist to Brina's fate that she and Sazuke had almost entirely swapped places since her great defection. Although she was doing her best not to sound offensive when she giggled, the impression would be faint enough just for one such as Brina to catch onto. "Well I guess since you know who I am... there isn't really much point in me giving you an "official" greeting into the Stealth Force... and that's especially true since you were a part of it way before me..." Despite her irritation, Brina still managed a smirk in her direction. "And yet you're the Lieutenant now, the Captain's right hand." She commented. Although her tone was jocular, there was also a subtle dose of compliment within. "I guess that in terms of relationship, that's fair. I don't think she'd live if she had me as her assistant." Her smirk changed to a pleased and mischievous smile. "Not to say that her life isn't going to be a living Hell with that closed gap, anyway. She thinks I was insubordinate under Master's rule? Oh, I hope she learns to savor the taste of her own words soon enough." At this point, Cheshire had moved towards Bei-Feng and began the notion of rubbing up against her back, continuously purring as it did so. Its owner continued talking, idly taking notice of the pet's actions. "But enough about me. What brings you to my humble abode, ma'am?" "Ma'am? Heh, that's a first." Bei-Feng smiled at hearing her honorific, even if it was just a jocular one. Since her ascension to Vice Captain, she had never really received such a title from any of the officers under her or Sazuke's command. Maybe they didn't feel she was yet worthy of the title, or maybe they just didn't feel the need to do so at all; she had only gotten the position a few days ago. Regardless, it was a pleasant thing for her young ears to hear, especially from one she had heard so much about. "Heh, you don't have to call me that you know..." she began, a slight tint of pink in her cheeks as she went on. "I'd like to at least make one other friend aside from Sazuke. Everyone else here tries to just avoid me, though I don't think it's out of neglect, more like caution... and that really sucks for a newbie in the VC spot, you know what I mean?"